Interview with Technical Damage

Straight out of the underground come Technical Damage, a multifaceted metal band from Canada who have just unleashed their debut album on the world. The Introspect is a solid and layered slab of metallic entertainment, one which offers meaty substance alongside its obvious style.

Want to find out a bit more about this band? Read on…

Introduce us to Technical Damage

Technical Damage is a five-piece metal band based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Formed in late 2016, we have sought to balance the extremes of metal with multiple other genres of music to create a sound that forms a bridge between fury, tranquillity, peace and rage. Led by frontman Kurtis Jeffrey, Technical Damage’s energetic live performances are driven by the intricate solos and riffs of guitarists Peter Bagchi and Harrison Shaw which is layered further by the powerful rhythms of drummer Michael Bagchi and bassist Chris McIlroy.

What are your influences?

Technical Damage finds their greatest influences in bands such as Misery Signals, After The Burial, 7 Angels 7 Plagues, Lamb of God, Intervals, and Beyond Creation. We also take great pride in our roots within the Vancouver metal scene and are profoundly influenced by local acts such as Neck of the Woods and Devin Townsend.

Name five things you’ve listened to recently that you’d recommend

Vancouver is the international metal scene’s best kept secret. Truent’s To End An Ancient Way of Life, Drown in Ashes’s Ruination, The Waning Light’s Depths of Perception, Obsidian’s Wake the Virus and Apollyon’s False Light are all amazing records that have come out just within the past few months. It’s incredible to see how much good music is currently coming out of our scene.

Tell us about your debut album The Introspect

Our debut album, The Introspect, was released on September 15, 2018. In many ways, it is a manifesto to what we are trying to accomplish as artists. In their review of our record, Wonderbox Metal wrote “…this is modern metal that enjoys incorporating a few different styles and genres into itself. The core of the band falls somewhere between technical metal, djent, hardcore/metalcore, and modern death metal. This forms the bedrock of the band’s material, with progressive and post-metal aspects existing alongside some more diverse elements borrowed from non-metal styles that show up here and there in the songs.” I cannot think of a more apt description of The Introspect, and we are thrilled with the positive reception we have heard thus far.

How were the songs written?

Harrison and myself were the primary song writers of the record from a structural standpoint. The first half of the album, ‘Everything Is Forever’, was written mostly by me but was supported through the expertise provided by Harrison, Peter, Michael and Chris. The second half of the album was written by Harrison using similar strategies. Crystal Angels was written exclusively by Peter – it was nice having that buffer between the two halves and it ended up working really well flow-wise. While the writing can vary from a general layout or “feel” , every song we have ever written is a joint effort from every band member in some way or another.

What’s your favourite song on the album and why?

Tough to say, but the hardcore fan in me still loves Reflections. It hits hard, it connects with your heart, and it is a great way to kick off the journey we hope to set people on when they listen to our record for the first time.

What goals do you have for the album?

Our first goal was always to ensure that we maintained our integrity as artists and created something original that we were proud of. If it wasn’t dynamic or original, it wasn’t going to cut it for us. Our goal moving forward is to use The Introspect as a springboard to further ourselves as a band and create a line of communication for metal fans around the world. We have been featured in magazines and online publishers from Mexico, Italy, The United States, Germany and Russia. We want to keep creating the music we love while extending our reach to the people who are searching for new and original music that isn’t afraid to push the traditional boundaries of the genre.

How do you think your music will progress in the future?

That’s tough to say! Sometimes an idea will come to me and I will love it – the next morning, I hate it and want to scrap the entire thing. The music we create in the future will be founded in the lessons we have learned from The Introspect and the lengths to which we will push ourselves to create metal that honours the artists who have had a profound impact on us.

How did you choose the cover artwork?

Great story – we were actually at a local show where Protosequence was playing as part of their tour of the West Coast. At the show, we saw a physical copy of their record which had some of the most incredible album artwork that I’d ever seen from an underground metal band. We chatted with the great dudes in Protosequence about it and got the contact information for Sushant Vohra, who is the lead graphic designer at Vohart Designs. He did an amazing job for us and the artwork he created for us has gone a long way in catching people’s attention when they are walking by our merch table or browsing through social media channels.

How important is good album art to you?

Very. We spent some time looking for the right artist and refused to settle for anything less than perfect with our artwork. We received that quality through Vohrart Designs. Sushant is the man and he deserves nothing but praise for the great work he did for us and his other clients.

What’s your local metal scene like?

Not enough good things can be said about our local metal scene. Vancouver is home to a rich and diverse community of metal bands that can satisfy every possible itch you get. Thrash, death, doom, core, black – you name it, we got it. The Vancouver metal scene is built on the amazing work ethic of our local promoters, including Modified Ghost, Journeyman Productions, and the other great people who put the extensive amount of time needed into making sure shows work out for the attendees, bands and promoters. There is a playlist on Spotify called ‘Vancouver Area Metal’ that has over 500+ songs of local Vancouver metal music – I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in finding some hidden treasures.

How would you say you fit into the global metal scene?

We are still very much under a rock somewhere in the world of metal. There are many great up-and-comers in our local area – Neck of the Woods is a perfect example of a local band on the fringe of blowing up in a big way – and we are still working our asses off every day to fit into that category. We love what we do and want to keep the momentum from The Introspect going as we continue to build our repertoire as not just a Vancouver metal band, but a Canadian metal band that is recognised nationally.

What are the next steps for Technical Damage?

Tour. Play lots of fucking shows. Spend time with other great artists. Never stop learning – always keep absorbing advice from veteran bands and picking ourselves up when we fall down. Push the band to places it has never been before. Meet new people from all over the country and beyond. There are a lot of great things ahead of Technical Damage in 2019 – and we want everyone to be a part of it.

Any final words?

Support your local scene, check out some of the names that have been dropped in this interview – and stay metal!